When I think about Ponyboy and the bottle outside the connivence store I think of the moment from earlier in the book: āI lie to myself all the timeā¦ but I never believe meā. As much as grief affects him and as hard and cool as Pony attempts to beā heās just not like the others. I do think he really tries, really thinks he takes Dallasās words in but thereās always been an out.
He knows when heās lying to himself even when he tries his hardest to believe it, just like he still loves Darry when he tried to convince himself he doesnāt. Ponyboy is still young and still has time to see who heās going to beā¦ going full hood just isnāt who he is. Or a better way to put it is that it isnāt who he has to beā heās always had an out, his family, his brothers, his friends- his brainā¦ heās a little bit softer but thatās a pretty alright way to be at 14 years old.
He picks up the pieces of the bottle so no one pops a tire.
